Contamination of water dispensed from a shower or faucet to a person who may be vulnerable to infection can be undesirable, as exposure to contaminants such as pathogens can lead to, for example, debilitating and costly infections, even morbidity. In order to reduce the risks of such exposure, disposable point-of-use showerhead filter devices can be attached to showerheads to prevent various contaminants, e.g., waterborne pathogens such as fungal spores, bacteria, and protozoa, from being dispersed into the environment at the point of use where the person taking a shower can be exposed to the pathogen(s).
Such showerhead filter devices can prevent the passage of pathogens toward the person while the water is dispensed (dispensed during a “use cycle”). Instructions for using the filter devices indicate the devices should be used for no more than a set period of time, e.g., 7 days, and then replaced, primarily due to the risk of retrograde contamination of the device outlet area over time and/or use.
However, the present inventors have discovered that these filter devices suffer from some disadvantages.